The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-05-14
THE INDICTMENTS.


THE INDICTMENTS.
On Saturday morning last Judge Blanch
ard, In the Circuit court, handed down hi
decision In the motion to quash the Nash
Raymond conspiracy indictment. Unfor
tunately no report of 1t was made, but II
substance his Honor said that the prose
Icutor had drawn as good an indictment a.
could probably be drawn on the facts al
legged, yet neither was the form good noi
did the facts alleged constitute an indicta
bic offense.
The history of the transaction on which
the grand jury based this indictment has
been told long ago by the FREE TRADER
and Is and has been so we'll understood
that 1t was a matter of much surprise that
the grand jury yielded to the clamor from
certain quarters to return the indictment at
all, for II Is hard to understand how bust.
ness transaction which has not the slight.
est faint of fraud In ary Of It's steps or pur-
poses, could he adjudged even by grand
Jury an indictable ofense and II showed
very good judgment on the part Of the
Judge 10 render decision, net only on the
technicalities of the indictment itself, but
on the merits Of the case itself This sets
at rest in the minds of all honorable men
any question they might have had as to
the merits of the case.
In this connection attention should be
called to the infamous utterances OF the
Streator Ind. Times, on this decision. We
do not care to repeat all of them even
within quotation marks, for their whole
tendency and aim is to both insult the
Court and to bring him into disrepute.
When the Ind-7imes says, :" 1t would
not do for men in high social pc
sition' to be sent to the penitentiary for
piccadillo of loaning the county finances
when she had not requested it." itassumes
a fact which is not true; and the conclu-
sion reached that the Judge has connived
with others to suppress an investigation in
to the merits of the case is an outrage on
the courts of this county, Of which judicial
notice should be taken The idea the "in.
dependent press " of this county seems to
have that it has the rivht to iIupute i'm
proper motives to Judges rendering de-
cisions on purely legal points, and thereby
belittle them in the eyes of the people, or
that they are at liberty by buster and
and threats to force from judges decisions in
accordance with their ideas of the case, is
one that good government demands should
be instantly and effectually silenced.
On yesterday morning on the hearing of
motions to quash the Milligan (W. r. per.
jury indictment, Judge Stipp made an in
formal decision, which probably disposes
of that case The fact under consideration
was the matter Of the Withholding Appel
late and Supreme Court earnings. They
were reported by the sheriff among his
earnings but he swore they belonged to
HIN. II that, the Judge said, were the
basis of the indictment, the indictment is
not good, for the reason that man can not
be indicted for swearing to an opinion on a
question of law. That Is an old question,
lawyers tell US; and if 1t were an indicta.
BILE offense there would be case of perjury
growing out of every law suit begun in
every court In the land There is always
one side that is wrong in every law suit
still the wrong side is not open to indict
ment for perjury unless, as might in some
cases appear, there was willful false
swearing instead Of a rightful difference
of opinion as to what is the right or wrong,
or as to what Is or what Is not the law on
certain questions. SO in this case Milligan,
II would seem, had sworn to an opinion
only, as there was not apparent conceal.
ment of the facts in the case. His Honor
withheld his opinion until he should ex.
anime the indictment, and minated that
If 1t were in the form claimed by the de-
Tense, it would be quashed.